"Another day, another alien planet that looks suspiciously like Canada."
Sam stifled a snort with difficulty. "I've told you, sir," she said. "It makes perfect sense that human-inhabited planets would have similar atmospheres, due to the – "
"Carter," Jack said, a small smile of his own playing around his lips. "I remember. I was making a little joke."
"Oh," she said. "Right."
"But by all means, continue your technobabble. I've kinda missed it in Washington," he added. "And all these grand alien planets, of course."
"Is that why you decided to make a surprise trip out here with the Daedalus?" Sam asked, knowing full well it wasn't. "For the alien planets?"
"Sure," he said. "I gotta get out sometimes, Carter, this staying behind and doing paperwork stuff is killin' me."
"So you spent three weeks in transit to get back into the field?" She raised her eyebrows.
Jack gave her a smirk. "Well, maybe there were a few other factors…" He edged closer, and she felt a brush of fingers against hers.
"Jack," she said softly. "Remember, we're not alone."
He sighed, casting an annoyed look behind them. Dr. Parrish was trailing them by a dozen paces or so, cooing over an oddly shaped leaf he was cradling in his hands. He was far enough behind that they occasionally lost sight of him in the forest's thick green foliage, but he was still within hearing range.
"Why exactly is that again?" Jack asked.
"He's been collecting samples for his theory about the spread of alien flora via the Stargate, and this planet and M17-943 are the only ones he still needs to visit. There's no other team coming here for weeks, so…" She shrugged. "He practically begged me to take him along."
"Uh huh." Jack looked unconvinced.
"It's a very interesting theory," she said, rather lamely.
"Why couldn't he go to M17-943 instead?" he muttered.
"Actually there's a good reason for that. Colonel Sheppard's team is scheduled there today."
"So? That would have been perfect. Sheppard's everything a good commander should be. Reliable, sarcastic, great hair…"
Sam chuckled. "One small problem. Rodney McKay is on Sheppard's team."
"Oh, yeah." Jack's tone changed, and he threw a much more sympathetic glance back towards Parrish. "Poor guy."
"Exactly my thinking, sir."
"Oh come on, Carter," Jack said. "Are you really gonna keep calling me 'sir?'"
"Force of habit, sir." She smirked. This was a conversation they'd had many times, and at this point it had turned into an entertaining habit itself. "Are you gonna keep calling me 'Carter?'"
He tilted his head thoughtfully. "Huh. Good point, Sam."
"Thank you, Jack."
Another loud exclamation of joy sounded from behind them as Dr. Parrish threw himself down onto the forest floor. Sam and Jack halted as he crawled around the ground, muttering to himself.
"Well, at least someone's having some luck," Jack said. "These Wraith-fighting allies of yours don't seem to want to make an appearance."
"Potential allies," Sam corrected. "According to Teyla, they're very particular about whom they'll even speak to, let alone fight with. Even she hasn't been able to make contact."
"We seem to run into those kinds of people a lot," Jack mused. "Hardly anybody ever wants to help us fight the evil life-sucking space creatures, go figure."
Her lips twitched, but Sam continued. "They saw us a short while ago – "
"Picked that up too, did you?"
"So now it's just a matter of whether or not they'll decide to come out and say hi," she said.
"We have chocolate!" Jack called, his voice echoing through the forest.
"I think they've gone by now, sir."
He shrugged. "It was worth a shot."
Dr. Parrish popped up from the ground and blinked at them with a wide smile. "What are we waiting for?" he asked.
Another hour passed with no sign of their hidden watchers, and Sam was about to call the mission when the light filtering through the trees changed. It looked like they were coming to a break in the forest.
She was proven right when the light grew stronger and clearer, the trees thinning somewhat. Then, she and Jack stepped out into bright sunlight. They stopped, allowing their eyes to adjust – and it was lucky that they did. When Sam was able to see more than a few feet in front of her, she drew in her breath sharply. Only a couple more steps ahead, the grass dropped off abruptly into a sheer cliff.
"Holy Hannah," she muttered.
"Ouch," Jack agreed.
Dr. Parrish caught up with them, halting next to Sam and shading his eyes. "Oh my God," he said breathlessly.
"Yeah, tell me about it," Jack said. "I'm beginning to have a few doubts here about – "
"No, no," Parrish interrupted. "Right there, on the edge of the cliff, see? It's identical to the specimen I found on M02-030, except there was no direct sunlight…" He took a step forward and Sam threw her arm out, blocking his path.
"Careful, doctor," she warned.
"Oh, yes," he said. "Of course."
Carefully, Jack edged out further and took a look down the cliff. Sam did the same, putting a hand on Jack's arm to steady them both.
On closer inspection, it wasn't quite as sheer as it had appeared at first. There was a nasty drop off for about thirty feet before it leveled off into something more like a very steep slope. Plus, the rock face was dotted with various small pits and cracks that would help give them a way down.
"What do you think?" she asked.
"We can make it," Jack said. "The question is, do we need to? If anybody wanted to talk to us, I think they might have come out to play before we almost fell to our grisly deaths."
Sam chuckled at that. "Teyla said they're not supposed to be hostile. I don't think we were meant to fall. For all we know, this could be some kind of test," she said, gesturing at the drop-off. "To see how determined we are to make contact with them, maybe."
"Definitely," Dr. Parrish put in, staring longingly at the small flowering plant perched on the cliff edge, leaves fluttering in the breeze. "I vote we go down."
"We've got the gear. No harm in trying, sir," she said.
Jack smiled at her. "I knew there was a reason I liked you, Colonel."
The descent was easier than Sam had expected, thanks in part to the fact that ever since the incident with Rodney and Dr. Keller, she never went out into the field without a coil of very strong rope.
Jack's feet hit the ground with a thud and he straightened, glancing over at where Sam stood guard. Dr. Parrish knelt nearby, holding one hand over his camera to shade the screen, making indistinct, excited noises about the pictures he'd somehow managed to take on the way down.
"We ready to go on?" Sam asked.
Before Jack could answer, a quiet voice spoke up.
"My brother thought you were gonna fall," it said, before its owner appeared out of nowhere, the air shimmering for a moment before forming itself into a little girl. She was wearing a heavy-looking bracelet that looked like equipment of some kind. Cloaking technology, Sam thought.
"I didn't," she added, with a smug smile.
"Oh, yeah? Well, thanks for the vote of confidence," Jack said. "What's your name?"
"What's yours?" she countered.
He glanced at Sam, his mouth twitching, then knelt down by the girl to look her in the eyes. "I'm Jack," he said. "And this is Sam, and that's – uh, that's Dr. Parrish."
"That's a weird name," was her next comment. Thankfully, Dr. Parrish was still engrossed with his camera and hadn't even noticed the exchange.
"Are you out here by yourself?" Sam asked, joining them on the ground.
She shrugged. "'Cept for my brother. He went to get our parents. They talk to off-worlders, like you."
Sam exchanged a look with Jack, trying to contain her excitement. "We'd really like to talk to them," she said. "Will they be coming here?"
The little girl nodded. "Until then, you can talk to me," she offered. "I've always wanted to meet somebody from the Gate."
There was a curious, hopeful gleam in her eyes that made Sam smile as she looked at Jack again.
"Sure," Jack said, seating himself comfortably on the ground. "What do you wanna know?"
"What's your friend doing?"
In unison, Sam and Jack glanced over their shoulders at Dr. Parrish, who was pressed up against the cliff face with his neck craned, looking up at a tree growing out of the rock and murmuring into a recorder.
"Honestly," Jack said, looking back at the girl. "I'm not really sure."
She nodded, solemn. "What's chocolate?" she asked.
Jack grinned, then turned to Sam, who was laughing quietly.
"Best first contact I've had in years."